Huge update

The USA trip went pretty well. Everything worked out OK, such as the car and the hotels. The car itself was a Chrysler Town & Country, a big van type thing which had three rows of seats. We knew it was going to be big but it was still a bit of a shock. It was OK to drive, although it did feel quite different from a car.

The first part of the trip was spent with Steve and Kara in Manchester CT, which was great as always. The time was spent mainly chilling and exploring Manchester and some of the further reaches of Connecticut. It was good to see more of the town where they live and we had probably one of the best burgers on the whole trip in a place called Catsup & Mustard. Even better, they do Ranch flavoured fries, which were really delicious. Another highlight was taking a trip to the Groton submarine base and touring the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine which is now parked up there.

On the Saturday (4th), we started out on Stage 2 of the trip, which was Washingon DC. This was the longest drive of the whole trip. We travelled in convoy with Steve and Kara with a break at Pottsville in Pennsylvania to have a look at the Yeungling brewery, which was pretty cool. The journey itself was quite unremarkable until we encountered the horror that is the Beltway. Things weren't too bad until some git pulled out of the slip road onto the carriageway. Everyone had to slam on, and an SUV behind us lost control and slammed into the central reservation. This flipped it onto its roof, and then it was hit by another car that rolled it back onto its wheels. This happened probably 10-15 feet behind us, and was distinctly scary. We were all a bit shaken up and very glad to make it to the hotel 20 minutes later. The Sunday was spent having a look around the Mall, the Washington Monument and the various memorials and things in that area. It was incredibly sunny and hot that day so it was a bit uncomfortable. Monday was spent looking at the Smithsonian but annoyingly it was very busy, which made the Air and Space Museum in particular very frustrating.

On Tuesday (the 7th) we bade farewell to Steve and Kara before heading off to New York, Stage 3 of the trip. This was a nice quiet journey with only a slight detour to Redbank, New Jersey, which is the home of Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash. It is pretty much a glorified comic book store but it was worth seeing. The only bit of the journey which caused us worry was getting to the hotel, which is right next to the entrance to the Holland Tunnel. We had such worries about getting sucked into it and having to drive around Manhattan that we took a very circuitous route to the hotel. We quickly made our way to the Path trains and spent the evening in Manhattan, hunting for the Times Square Brewery, which sadly had closed down.

Last time we came to New York, we spent 10 days in Manhattan which was a bit of a mistake as we got burnt out fairly quickly. This time though, four days was plenty. The first day was just spend wandering around Manhattan. We got out of the Path at the Christopher Street station and took a walk through Greenwich Village and up through Manhattan, finally ending up at the United Nations. It was great to just stroll along and see what was there without any particular rush. We found the Strand Bookstore with 18 miles of books, which isn't a lie or exaggeration. After that we got the subway to the south end again and ended up at Ground Zero, still a sobering sight.

The second day was spent in Brooklyn, which was pretty interesting as it has quite a varied atmosphere. Some parts are really quiet and nice, while other bits were like Manhattan but smaller. After lunch in Prospect Park, we headed to Coney Island. Sadly this was a bad mistake - it's like Rhyl, but worse. Even more unlucky, I had to use the toilet. The ones in the subway station were unbelievable and the ones out on the promenade weren't much better. We spent hardly any time there but the subway trip was quite interesting as it is elevated over most of Brooklyn, and there was a lot to see. The day ended with a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, which was great. Rob insisted that this had to be done in the dark, so we waited for it to become dark in the Henry St. Ale House, which had good drinks, and eventually, good food. The walk across the bridge was really cool, although slightly alarming when you realise you're walking directly above the road. Everyone did their own thing for the last day, so I just wandered around Manhattan, seeing various things.

That Saturday it was the final drive from New York back to Boston, Stage 4 of the trip. This was probably one of the worst trips in the car. It was raining hard nearly all the way, with terrible visibility on the highway. This wasn't helped by the Satnav which picked a completely stupid route which included the northern tip of Manhattan. After the highways and things, it also took us the wrong way to the Avis place, which was annoying. We managed to get the car back with 7 minutes to spare, so that was lucky. The hotel turned out to be really good and we were all on the 10th floor. The weather was still horrible that evening so we ate quite near to the hotel. Sunday was spent with Steve and Kara and Bridie, walking the Freedom Trail around the city, taking in various landmarks. Despite it being clear and sunny, it was bitterly cold. On the Monday we took in one of the famous Duck Tours, which was really interesting and entertaining. The driver was an ex-magician and the way he did it could have been hideously embarrassing but somehow it worked. After that we went up the Prudential Tower and gazed down on the city from the 50th floor, and went to the fire station so Em could buy a sweatshirt. After a meal in a place recommended by the Duck driver, I headed back to the hotel for an early night. The next day everyone did their own thing, while the last day was spent visiting the USS Constition before the flight home.

The trip back was uneventful except for Rob's entertainment screen getting stuck on an image of a dying woman 40 minutes before landing in Heathrow, which was slightly alarming.

Since getting back it's been a case of trying to adapt back to UK time and not doing much at all really. On Friday it was the annual badminton club bash which is always entertaining. Yesterday I went to see my Dad and today it was a trip to the big car boot sale with Will and Kat. It was the usual crap and only Kat ended up buying anything, a couple of vinyl records and a giant sketchbook. The weather was great today so I took the dog for a walk and attacked some of the overgrowth on the track.

Back to work tomorrow, should be interesting.

I also did end up with a DSi after half-heartedly thinking about picking one up. After the incident on the Beltway which included severely heavy braking, we found a DS Lite in the car which must have been left in there. I had a cunning plan to trade it in for a DSi until I found out that DSi specific stuff is region locked. So I bought one in the tax-free PC World in Heathrow. I wasn't planning to, but they had one out on display and the feel of the buttons did it. Nintendo finally fixed the mushy and useless D-pad of the Lite and made it more like the old Phat DS. So far it's interesting. The camera and sound features are quite good fun and games look nice on the (slightly) larger screens.